For one month, the fight for health insurance reform leaves the backrooms of Washington, D.C., and returns to communities across America. Throughout August, members of Congress are back home, where the hands they shake and the voices they hear will not belong to lobbyists, but to people like you.

We didn’t win last year’s election together at a committee hearing in D.C., but in every part of this great country where people gather to talk about what matters most. And if you’re willing to step up once again, that’s exactly where we’re going to win this historic campaign for the guaranteed, affordable health insurance that every American deserves…

Can you commit to join at least one lobbying event in your community this month?

Every day we don’t act, Americans watch their premiums rise three times faster than wages, small businesses and families are pushed towards bankruptcy, and 14,000 people lose their coverage entirely.

Well, I’m not always the most prompt email correspondent. But when the most powerful man in the world writes me, I have to respond:

Barack —

Good to hear from you. I know this has been a busy few months, and I appreciate your taking the time to write.

I also appreciate your reminder of the halcyon days of last fall, when Kris and I worked hard to put Colorado in your column. And we did it! We also helped elect the first Democrat from the 4th Colorado congressional district since 1974, Betsy Markey, and flip another Senate seat into the Democratic column, with the victory of Mark Udall. Today, Democrats control both houses of Congress by substantial majorities and the White House. If Democrats want to pass universal health care, they can.

So, are you ready?

You don’t need me to wave a sign, write letters, or shoud down those mean old conservatives, who, I hear, have actually tried to disrupt constituent meetings during the August recess. (Shocking. I grew up in Chicago; I can’t even imagine such rude political behavior.)

I consider this a test for the Democratic Party. What, if anything, do you stand for?

We already have a rich man’s party in this country, which is very effective at rewarding its natural constituents. For awhile in the twentieth century, we also had an effective progressive party, standing up for the interests of working people and the middle class. I haven’t seen many signs of the Democratic Party of FDR and LBJ in recent decades. I worked to elect you, not because you have a nice smile, but to try and bring that party back.

So here’s what I need from you, Betsy, and Mark. Pass and sign legislation guaranteeing all Americans universal health care, including a strong government-run program to keep private health insurers honest.

You mention the thousands of people who lose medical coverage every day. I had dinner with one of them last week: a woman who just lost her job. She’s hoping she doesn’t get sick before she finds another one.

I notice that when it came to bailing out rich Wall Street bankers, your administration acted expeditiously. You rammed a program through Congress within a few weeks, leaving little details for later (like how soon the better part of a trillion dollars might be paid back, and whether there would be better regulation of the banking industry). So perhaps, with the health and happiness of millions of little people, like my friend, at stake, you can show similar urgency.

In any case, I won’t be waving any placards or calling bored secretaries in Washington to register my views on health care this August. I’m going camping with Kris and the boys for a few days; then it’s back to work.

I’m going to do my job. You do yours.”

Philip Cafaro is an Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department at Colorado State University. He lives in Fort Collins. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.